Devale Ellis (born April 2, 1984, in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

) is an American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

and former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

wide receiver. He was signed by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...

in 2006. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

at Hofstra.

Personal life

He is married to Khadeen Ellis and together they have four sons: Jackson (b. 2011), Kairo (b. 2016), Kaz (b. 2017) and Dakota (b. 2021). Devale and Khadeen have a comedy filled YouTube channel called "The Ellises" where they showcase their family vlogs and skits. In 2019, they created a podcast called “Dead Ass” together where they share stories, opinions and give advice on love, marriage and business. Since 2019, he has starred as Zac in the television series '' Sistas''.

High school career

Devale attended James Madison High School in Brooklyn, New York, where he played football and basketball. In his senior year at Madison, he lit up the Public School Athletic League. He was in the top ten for catches made and in the top ten for touchdowns made by a wide receiver. He also played in the PSAL all star game. During the season, he earned the nickname Devale "Show Time" Ellis.

College career

He attended

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of Ne ...

, where he was a teammate of

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

wide receiver

Marques Colston Marques E. Colston ( born June 5, 1983) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Hofstra University, and was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He helped the Saints ac ...

. Ellis finished his career with 176 catches for 2,207 yards (a 12.5 per-catch average) and 22 touchdowns. As a senior in 2005, he led Hofstra with 74 receptions for 943 yards and five touchdowns. He ranked second in the Atlantic 10 in receptions, third in receiving yards and ninth in all-purpose yards (103.8 yards per game). As a junior, with Colston sidelined all season with an injury, Ellis led the team ranked second in the Atlantic 10 and 11th in I-AA with 74 catches, good for 1,067 yards (a 14.4 average) and 13 touchdowns.

Professional career

Detroit Lions

He went undrafted in the

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with ad ...

, but was signed as a free agent after participating in the rookie mini-camp as a tryout player. He was signed to the Lions eight man practice squad on September 3, 2006. Although he played in the season opener against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

on the September 9th, he was waived from the active roster on September 11, and shortly afterwards re-signed with the practice squad. As of October 15, he had been upgraded to the active roster and made his first start against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

. Ellis was waived by the Lions during final cuts on August 30, 2008.

Cleveland Browns

After spending the 2008 regular season out of football, Ellis was signed to a future contract by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

on December 31, 2008. He was waived on July 26, 2009.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

Cleveland Browns bioDetroit Lions bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Devale 1984 births Living people Sportspeople from Brooklyn Players of American football from New York (state) American football wide receivers American football return specialists Hofstra Pride football players Detroit Lions players Cleveland Browns players James Madison High School (Brooklyn) alumni American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from New York (state) 21st-century American male actors